Words by Abi Scaife
Businesses across the globe are stepping up to help citizens in Turkey and Syria that have been affected by the earthquakes there.
What happened?
In the early hours of Monday 6th February, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Gaziantep, Turkey. The second quake was 7.7 magnitude, and the two were felt as far away as Cyprus and Cairo.
A series of aftershocks have followed these quakes, causing further damage to southern Turkey and northern Syria. More than 5,600 buildings have collapsed, and thousands of lives have been taken, with many more trapped or injured.
Who is stepping up to help?
FatFace, a UK-based clothing company, has spoken openly about the crisis and has donated £20,000 to the British Red Cross through their non-profit arm, FatFace Foundation.
Intidex, a company which comprises of seven brands including Zara, Pull&Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Stradivarius, Oysho and Zara Home, has donated three million euros to the Red Crescent. Additionally, they also provided 500,000 outerwear products to the Red Crescent and AFAD (Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency) for those in need.
Ikea, a Swedish-based furniture company, has donated 10 million euros to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) emergency fund to provide medical assistance, through The Ikea Foundation, their non-profit arm.
Virgin Atlantic have announced that they will be redirecting all onboard donations to Save the Children, specifically to help the children and families who have been affected by this disaster.
How can you help?
There are plenty of UK charities who are helping out, whether that is sending people over to help with the aftermath, or raising money to contribute supplies and provisions.
Here are some of the charities that you can donate to, to help in the aftermath of these disasters.
This article aligns with the UN SDG Partnership for the Goals.
